


realization

by cougarlips



Series: fanille week 2017 [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Confessions, F/F, Love Confessions, POV Third Person, Post-Battle, Pre-Canon, back on oerba before the war of transgression, set during their first focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 14:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10901190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cougarlips/pseuds/cougarlips
Summary: Fang never was the best Medic; It was Vanille who more than made up for it in their duo, who hardly had to wave her fingers before the magic soothed all of Fang’s aches and pains and cured her ailments. It took Vanille a quarter of the time to do better what Fang could do, but Fang, at the moment, was all they had.





	realization

Fang’s heart faltered at the sight of Vanille stumbling towards her, feet dragging against the dirt and blood dripping from the end of her rods. She darted up, disregarding entirely the fact that moments before she’d been getting ready to sleep and wore only a pair of shorts and her bra, and launched herself towards her partner.

Fang never was the best Medic; It was Vanille who more than made up for it in their duo, who hardly had to wave her fingers before the magic soothed all of Fang’s aches and pains and cured her ailments. It took Vanille a quarter of the time to do better what Fang could do, but Fang, at the moment, was all they had.

She worked tirelessly, all sleep forgotten as she worked on Vanille underneath her: washing away the blood that dried on her skin, cleaning the wounds and healing them as she found them, summoning a touch of fire to both warm their rapidly cooling bodies as well as provide light as she worked. She paid no mind to the way the blood-tinged water dried over her hands. When she noticed the creatures looming closer, she summoned Bahamut without a thought, putting her Eidolon in charge as she refused to allow anything else to happen to Vanille.

It took hours for Fang to decide she’d done all she could feasibly do and sit back. Then she leaned away, straightened her posture, and looked down on Vanille’s resting form. Idly, just to give herself something to do, she began removing Vanille’s accessories and cleaned the last of the blood away from her body, getting her somewhat ready to rest so that when she woke up she wouldn’t feel quite so uncomfortable.

“What were you trying to _do,_  Vanille?” she asked aloud, though her question fell on deaf ears.

Gently, she bent low and looped her arms around her partner, picking her up slowly and carefully bringing her back towards their camp, laying her down on top of the blankets she’d laid out for herself now hours before. She dismissed Bahamut and stuck the crystal back in her pack. Then, slowly, she sat down across from Vanille and watched her chest rise and fall with even breaths.

“You can’t scare me like that,” she said, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She felt young, sitting like that, like she was twelve years old again and Vanille was just a toothy nine year old who passed out after a busy day at weapons training: a little grimy, a little smelly, but exhausted enough to fall asleep without even bothering to change into night clothes.

She knew Vanille couldn’t hear her, but it made it easier to say the words aloud. “I don’t think I’d be able to complete our Focus without you,” she admitted, a frown on her lips. “I don’t think I’d be able to do _anything_ without you.”

The realization had been dawning on her for some time. The thought that she would be lost without Vanille. “It’s like you…. It’s like you’re a light, you know?” she mused. “And you make it so that I can see what I’m doing and what I’m supposed to do. And without you, I’d just get swallowed up by….”

_By what?_ she wondered, though. By darkness? _By yourself_ , she knew the answer was, and it made her stomach churn at the sheer thought of it. “I’m not good by myself, Vanille,” she said, her voice low. “I need you to….” _keep me sane, keep me hopeful, keep me alive_.

“I just… I need you, Vanille,” she finally said.

(When Vanille finally woke up, nearly twelve hours later, Fang had fallen asleep with her back to Vanille’s. Her body felt refreshed, if a little stiff, and her gaze softened when she turned around and looked at Fang. Her own magic still felt low, but she still cast a short cure on her partner, hoping it would ease her mind and calm her spirit.

If the first thing she told Fang after she woke up was “ _I need you, too_ ”, Fang didn’t let herself panic.)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you guys so much for reading through the series, if you have!! i had so much fun writing these over the last month, even if half of them i endednup totally rewriting this week anyway. super super massive thank you to [mary](http://lightsfarron.tumblr.com) for orchestrating this whole shebang and being just an amazing person in general ❤❤❤❤


End file.
